The quick commerce market in India is growing rapidly and there is a competition among companies like Blinkit, Zepto, Swiggy Instamart, BigBasket and JioMart to provide the fastest delivery to customers, but Amazon’s strategy seems a little different from other players. The company’s focus is not just on fast delivery, but on building such an operations network that can make it the country’s Everyday Store i.e. the first choice for everyday needs.
Amazon believes that in the future, customers will depend on the online platform not only for electronics or big shopping events, but also for everyday goods like fruits and vegetables, milk, grocery, baby care, personal care and household needs products. This is why Amazon Fresh and Amazon Now have got an important place in the company’s strategy. According to Amazon, almost half of the orders coming on its platform are now related to the daily needs category.
Supply chain starts from farmers
Amazon’s network starts from the farms, not after the customer places the order. The company provides estimates of demand to farmers in advance so that they can plan production and harvesting accordingly. After the harvest is ready, the products reach the collection centers, where their initial testing and grading is done. After this they are sent to processing centers, where processes like cleaning, sorting, packaging and quality checking are completed. More than 16,000 farmers and aggregators are connected to the company’s network.
Cold chain is the biggest strength
The biggest challenge in delivery of fresh vegetables and fruits is to maintain their quality. Amazon is using extensive cold-chain network for this. Storage with different temperatures have been created in the company’s processing and fulfillment centres. Berries, green vegetables, dairy and frozen products are kept at different temperatures according to their needs. Due to this, the freshness of the products remains for a long time.
The network will reach 100 cities
Amazon is now rapidly expanding its micro-fulfillment center (MFC) network. The company currently has more than 360 micro-fulfillment centers and plans to expand it to more than 1,000 centers in 100 cities. This network will support both Amazon Fresh and Amazon Now. Recently, the company has also announced the launch of 100 large fulfillment centers in major cities under Amazon Now, with the help of which the delivery capacity will be increased within 10 to 20 minutes.
AI and data will lead to faster delivery
The role of artificial intelligence and machine learning is continuously increasing in Amazon’s supply chain. The company estimates future demand by analyzing weather, local demand, purchasing trends and customers’ browsing activities. With this, the right products can be made available at the right place and at the right time. The company says that better forecasting improves both inventory management and delivery speed.
Bet of billions of dollars on infrastructure
Amazon plans to invest $35 billion in India by 2030. Under this, technology, logistics, AI and operations infrastructure will be strengthened. The company has also announced an additional investment of Rs 2,800 crore this year to strengthen its operations network in India.
Operations are becoming new products
Earlier competition in the e-commerce sector was based on price and variety of products. After this, Quick Commerce made delivery speed the biggest weapon. Now Amazon believes that the next competition will be on operational efficiency and strength of supply chain.
By integrating farms, collection centres, cold-chain, AI, micro-fulfillment centers and delivery networks, the company is creating a system that will help it become not just an e-commerce company but India’s Everyday Store. The customer may see only a bag of groceries at the door, but behind it is a huge network of thousands of farmers, warehouses, data systems and delivery partners.
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